Hot Wheels Project

[Son of Kradus]

I thought i'd post this here coz im starting a build on the hot wheels trike I picked up last week! I plan to motorize this thing and use it as a fun gas powered drifter trike! seen a few on you tube made with the hot wheels frame so im gonna have a crack at this caper. looks fun and it all counts towards valuable practice and learning for when the time comes to build my own motorbike!
First up was to weld the removable rear axle housing in its place of origin, while this is housing the 10mm axle for the plastic hot wheels its nowhere near strong enough for a motorized unit of any description! It was made for kids after all, I used the existing axle and measured it all up to make sure the thing is straight!, it was so I started the welding! I have left the 2 bolts in at this stage that hold the axle housing and the main frame together, I may use these holes later when mounting the motor, which at this stage is looking like a 125 -4 banger, 4 speed, the chinese units are way better these days and ive owned the Loncin 140 before in an old thumpstar, it was great and I couldnt kill it!
I then welded in some rear supports, in true "son of Kradus" fashion there was left over 2.5 x 30mm mild steel tube, this was used to strengthen it all up, Overkill yes but its great practice welding different guage metals when everyone tells you ya cant!, Just kidding, it really is a case of using up the steel scraps and being as thrifty as I can because at the end theres gonna be almost $750 burnt up in a motor and 22mm go kart axle kit!
The Go kart Axle only comes in at about $200 with wheels, the motors pushing $450-$550, give or take a hundred I say!
Now dont fret, these things use a plastic sleeve that go's over the go kart tyre so it always slips n slides real easy, your backside is only 2 inchs off the ground, anything over 18mph will feel like 100 so speed is not what these are for, its purley a drifting and sliding thing all over the road or tennis courts, anywhere that you piss people off....ummmmm. yeah thats what these ar for....JK! usually on private properties or safe places.... like when no cars are coming LOL.
So thats it for the first day of the "Hot Wheels Project", tomorrow im gonna look at adding a long sweeping gusset going from the top of the new triangle supports and working its way about half way up the mainframe towards the head stock! May even look at wrapping a sleeve around that head stock and have it running into the down tube a bit, im just trying to strengthen this thing up , its gonna need it!

 

[Son of Kradus]

Ok so today I made the gussett/supports to strengthen this frame, Its going according to plan, while looking as horrid as ever my welds are getting better, I got to the stage where I was holding some more of the 2.5/30mm tube when I said to myself "Just stop this insanity" so I grabbed the old MTB I got from the dump about 6 weeks ago, A donor bike for the blue meanie project, it still had good bits of tubing on it so I went about cutting and fabricating the parts!,
I'm really trying to keep the flow of the trikes frame and its coming along quite well, ive kept overlapping the extra supports to try n even out the major stress points, the last piece now will be the underside of the down tube and up to the head stock, maybe even still wrap a thin sleeve around the head stock and down the frame a bit.
Next will be the aquisition of the rear go kart axle, I plan to weld C section across the back of the rear tube and then weld mounting brackets for the Axle to those!, im really trying mount the motor in front of the axle and not behind it as many others do! it will have to sit a wee bit next to the rider either to the left or right, the way Racing go karts have them!, we just have to see, as with Blue Meanie, nothing is set in concrete till ive had a beer or 2 and ive stood there just looking at the thing, thinking, planning, wondering if this or that will work. sometimes I have a set plan, go to bed, then the next day ive thought about what can go wrong etc so the design may change! one things for sure the go kart axle will sit a good 3-5 inchs back from where the plastic wheels are in the pics, its also gonna be a good 200-300mm wider in full guise so we still get to keep the original triangular design , its only a bit bigger!

 

[RustyGold]

This is going to be a HOOT!

 

[Son of Kradus]

Well as life always gets in the way, all projects put on the back burner,
Wife's car has a blown turbo, close inspection revealed no oil in the motor,WTF... I Said, why didn't ya get it serviced, she says, the message went away after a while so I kept driving it grrrrrr. Yeah like 1yr later look where we are,
So no mechanic's will touch it, a new motor is needed,. Bahhhh humbug, she still holds speed in 6th. Uphill so the compressions fine, lets hope no internal scars from lack of oil, it dosnt blow any smoke, still runs like a dream but no boost, its like driving a Nana's car.
the engineering shop said do it myself, 50/50 mix of kerosine and oil, fill motor and start it up and run till warm then drain it and repeat..... 3 Times , then the turbo comes off fo a rebuild or replacement,
And so its begun, the Kia pro ceed, is sitting on blocks awaiting the special treatment
Wish me luck

 

[Son of Kradus]

As luck would have it I was taking the wife's car for an electrifying Nana like speed to the local boat ramp, As I went past the Sports ground I spied a huffy green machine thrown out and left beside the Sports ground rubbish bin.
I went back and couldn't believe it had the seat still on which is what's missing off the hot wheels drifter, fantastic, so it made its way into the back of the wife's car.
The green machine and the hot wheels drifter are like chalk n cheese, the hot wheels drifter is bigger, stronger and really well built whereas the greeny is....well junk basicly but the seats gonna fill a void and as with the hot wheels they have a free wheeling hub on the front and a strong bearing set up which can be easily fabricated into a jack shaft for the next fat tyre crazy bike , I'm excited about that small fact so cheers to me ha I
Also in the background we see the remains of the wife's exercise bike, the seat off this is on blue Meanie and the remaining frame is going to have a 2nd life as a frame jig, it just has to be sorta micro measured and aligned then all joins welded to stop it from moving, adjustable clamps and arms are easily made to achieve desired angles etc.

 

[Son of Kradus]

Ok made some bars today, actually made Two LOL.
1st set I'd used a single style gooseneck bar which is a larger diameter, so 2hrs later I found this out, grrrrr, cut em up and started again, bit better this time but a wee bit crooked, not sure if I'll cut n straiten or use some muscle and try n bend it, its not too bad,
The seat is just sitting there and isnt welded into place yet, im dealing with the front end at this stage, also finished the main frame, support's and the extra tubing gusset under the main frame, she's pretty solid and thanks to the donor pile its way lighter due to ditching the giant heavy guage steel I so rudely use

 

[Ulu]

Note to self: Do not rely on wife to check oil, tires, lights, battery, brakes, washer fluid, or spare pressure.

And NEVER expect her to know how that spoiler got gouged or where that dent came from…

One of these days I’ll figure out how to program her car not to start on Mondays unless she opens the hood and checks the oil. That way she’ll come in and get me to do it.

 

[Son of Kradus]

Note to self: Do not rely on wife to check oil, tires, lights, battery, brakes, washer fluid, or spare pressure.

And NEVER expect her to know how that spoiler got gouged or where that dent came from…

One of these days I’ll figure out how to program her car not to start on Mondays unless she opens the hood and checks the oil. That way she’ll come in and get me to do it.

Yep....there it is right there, I can blame her all I want, ..... I still kick myself coz I shouldve known better!

 

[Son of Kradus]

Made some foot rests today, used an old set of forks off one the donor bikes, dunlop grind BMX, cut the top tube out and then used the same donor bikes bottom down tube to extend those forks and also gives them an angle to play with, we can still pedal without hitting the foot rest arms, so proud I made them out of bicycle tubing and not heavy guage mild steel tubing ha ha ha, ive now grown out of that, so the trike is still quite light,
I used forks for the bottom ends so I could use bmx stunt pegs, these didn't quite give me the width I wanted so the actual foot pegs are also bicycle down tubing.
For what its worth the things come along quite well, theres a couple crooked bits here n there but remember I'm eyeballing most cuts n knotchs, there will be inconsistencies and as per usual my welds are horrendous at best but are getting better ,but this cheap crap mig just isnt consistent enough in its wire feed , it welds great for 20 second's then I can hear the units feed motor struggling, it then sometimes stops n restarts mid welding run and I rekon the hose may be damaged so a new welders arriving soon, soon as in ....once the wifes cars fixed that is I can weld better than whats on show here and blue meanie but it really is a case of making do with what I've got.
But in all honesty I cant wait to fire this thing up,

 

[Son of Kradus]

The more I looked at the footrest arm's I began thinking about just a wee bit more strength. Theres no compromise on the foot pegs, they are welded on to the fork stay's, never to be removed! I then had to come up with something that was going to support the weight of leg pressure on those leg rest's ,there will be lots of bumps n wobbles n bangs while getting flogged about the street, so I took to the donor bike pile again and salvaged the forks off this Dunlop wanderer, one of the daughters bikes that now never gets ridden, the derailur off this bike is on the blue meanie along with the crank case bearings.
I then split the forks by cutting out the center tube at the top, I wanted the slight curve as the forks bend to meet the main tube so I made sure this was still kept good when removing them! the curve is needed so the extra support arm will not get in the way of the pedal's, you'll see ive made them curve and fall back to give the clearance.
so thats it for the frame, no more work to be done until the axle arrives this week sometime!, I cannot build up the rear until I have that axle n brackets sitting in front of me, it just makes sense.
So far so good
Oh and that bloody welder. grrrrrrrr

 

[Son of Kradus]

Turbo n manifold for the wifes car turned up today, just have to book it in for the fitment, would love to do it myself but its honestly beyond me and the thing's factory lowered so it was a mission doing all those oil n kerosene flushs let alone do a major mechanical repair with the underbelly of the car 6 inches from your face while lying on my back,
And so the trike has to sit for another few days till that axle arrives.

 

[Son of Kradus]

Axle turned up a couple days early, didn't quite know what to expect as it's the cheapest of the strongest 810mm/25mm axle kits and at $90 was a great deal, however coz this is my first powered ground up project mistakes are gonna happen,. I ordered the wrong hubs, these are 4bolt and I wanted 3 Bolt hub's, so another $30 and I can get the proper go kart rims which internationally are a 3 bolt pattern. No drama really just my impatient self buying on limited research.
And so over the next few days I'll be busy standing there just looking at things and work out where and how everything fits,

 

[MattiThundrrr]

And so over the next few days I'll be busy standing there just looking at things

It's an important step. I get paid for it

 

[Son of Kradus]

Had a look around the recycling shop at the tip/dump and found these gems, the Dunlop Typhoon cost $10, it has an aluminium frame thats pretty straight, im excited about this one, I May even try and join in the winter build off with this ally beast.
the 2 X 66cm mountain bikes are the same brand ,cost $25 for both and have the exact same suspension setup, I plan to use these for a tricky "independent power train suspension" for the powered drifter.
In short I plan to have the motor and axle sitting on a rear subframe attached to the main frame by the swivel joints and adjustable springs, this is a very different approach to a drift trike frame, i havnt seen it on you tube or Pintrest, it dosnt really suit the drift trike suspension traits which are, well zero, this helps break traction quickly, the springs will work against this principle so they'll be wound up tight, im just chasing a bit more comfort and also just wanna challenge myself.
Any input on this aspect is welcomed, its a bold step and in a worse case scenario and it fails miserably then it gets cut out and we go hard core... Back to zero suspension that is LOL

 

[Son of Kradus]

Motor n clutch turned up today, Super excited, still can't carry on with this just yet, waiting on those 3 bolt hub's and a pair of wheels,
Really need those bolted on before I start building this rear end, lts all about axle heights and how much travel I'm gonna allow in this live powertrain before adding some cushy bump stops, we dont want 100mm of travel, probably 20mm at best, this is why I'm using a 2 spring set up to allow for rider and motor, all up we should be sliding around with a gross weight ( Inc rider) between 110-150kg , depend on the bloke riding of corse LOL

 

[Son of Kradus]

Being my impatient self I had a mock layout this morning, everything going according to plan,
You can see why I need the hubs n wheels before I start fabbing,
Those cut off chain stays on the spring assemblies will be removed and I'll knock the crank cases around the blue axle housing from the main frame, a swag of supports and should be more than enough to hold up, the springs offer a good spreading of the load on that welded join. Like said earlier, I don't want the thing folding in half from too much travel in the springs so they're gonna be wound up real tight and bump stops added in somewhere to stop after 20mm or so.

 

[RustyGold]

Ride vids will be a must!

 

[Son of Kradus]

Thumb throttle turned up today, got the fright of my life when I opened the package and all I saw was a box of spark plugs LoL, it is eBay after all ha ha.
So the wheels will be here in a day or two,

Why I left them till last is beyond me

 

[Son of Kradus]

Wheels have arrived, everything fits so heres one last mock assembly.
All these pics are almost the exact dimensions that the machine will have.
I'm considering dumping the springs and running a rigid set up.
The bloke at the karting raceway rekons NO, keep it stiff, OK, I said (hmmmm)
The tyres and small amount of flex within the axle itself is enough, , but I did want the fabrication practise, its on the cards anyway LOL
As Palpatine mentioned the other day, "Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen"

 

[MattiThundrrr]

I love it when a plan comes together